In families that have at least one day of home‑office per week, the average birth rate is 14 % higher than in families that do not use home‑office at all. The study-conducted by the Ifo Institute and Stanford University and covering 38 countries-suggests that a third of women, over their lifetimes, will have an extra child compared with counterparts in households that lack home‑office arrangements.
Ifo researcher Mathias Dolls notes that the effect is strongest when both partners work from home. “The increase shows up in both the number of children already born and the number of children currently planned” Dolls said.
The United States shows the largest impact. When both partners work remotely at least one day a week, women in the U.S. have 18 % more births than couples that do not. Dolls explains that broader access to home‑office likely reduces the time and organizational burden of juggling work and family life, thereby encouraging larger families.
“More flexibility through home‑office could help people achieve the family size they desire” Dolls added. He estimated that moving Germany’s home‑office rate up to the U.S. level could generate roughly 13,500 additional births per year. Although home‑office alone cannot solve the demographic challenge, it could be a useful component in slowing the trend of falling birth rates.
The study is based on survey data from the Global Survey of Working Arrangements, focusing on respondents aged 20 to 45. Researchers examine the link between home‑office prevalence and actual birth counts from 2023 to 2025, planned future children, and overall lifetime birth rates.
